Sing me to Sleep
by madohomos
Summary: Kyoko has a recurring nightmares of the night she found her family dead. One night she can't calm down from them, so she calls Sayaka at 3 AM and asks if she can sleep over. Cheesy, horribly-written fluff follows.


Nightmares.

They spread through her mind like a plague almost every night.

The glistening of blood, the silhouette of a noose, the sound of the creaking rafters as the body of a man swung slowly back and forth in its grip, the smell of oil and booze, the taste of bitter bile - the trauma all came back, night after night as she slept, jolting her awake at the sound of her own screaming.

This was a normal occurrence.

They weren't usually too bad. Usually she would just wake up, cry a few tears and have a glass of water, then go back to sleep. She was tough, she could manage, she constantly told herself. Everyone had nightmares. They may be much different, being of ghosts and demons and made up things to other people instead of the taunting memory of the death of their family, but they were still just nightmares. Nothing she couldn't get through.

...Until one night, she was proven wrong.

The phone rings.

Groaning, the blue haired girl shuffled under the covers of her bed before ultimately pulling them off. Reaching for the phone, she let her eyes dart to the digital clock by her bed, sighing again as she picked the phone up off the receiver. Holding it to her ear at taking advantage of the fact her parents were away on a business trip, she shouted as loudly and as angrily as she could into the other end.

"Hey, listen, it's 3 AM! Who the hell are you and what do you want at this ungodly hour?"

Sobs. Whoever called her, they were crying. She immediately regretted raising her voice.

"Kyoko? Is that you? Kyoko, what's wrong?"

"Sayaka... I'm having the nightmares again... but this time they're really bad... "

Concern surged through Sayaka at the words. Kyoko was never the type to cry, especially not this hard. She'd only ever seen her squeeze out a tear or two when talking about her family or maybe when she dropped an ice cream cone, but never had she heard her outright _sob. _She barely even recognized it was her at first. Before she could say anything more, Kyoko resumed speaking.

"I-I don't think I can go to sleep by myself. I-is it okay if I come over and sleep with you?"

She had to pause multiple times to breathe in and swallow down the phlegm draining into the back of her throat so she didn't choke on it. Asking to sleep with Sayaka is normally something Kyoko would be far too shy to do, and if she were to be asked herself, it would surely lead to her becoming a blushing mess on the floor, but the circumstances made it hard for her to think about what she was requesting. Her mind was going too fast and she was too panicked to care. Waiting anxiously for a response, she clapped her hand to her mouth to keep her gasps for air quieted, looking around and pacing the floors of her dirty, cheap apartment to try and make things pass quicker.

Sayaka was wide awake now. The request to sleep with her was a little odd, sleeping over would have been more expected, but the outright "Can I sleep _WITH _you" left her a bit surprised. Shaking her head and swallowing to regain her composure, Sayaka agreed.

"Sure, of course, if it'll help you feel better I'd be glad to let you slee -"

A loud clapping sound followed by dial tone cut her off. Kyoko had hung up the phone as soon as she processed the positive response, running to throw on a jacket and slip on some shoes before leaving her apartment in her pajamas.

Seeing no reason to stay in bed, the blue haired girl decided she would get up and walk around as she waited for Kyoko to arrive.

It couldn't have been 5 minutes before there was a knocking at Sayaka's door. She opened the door to see Kyoko dressed rather sloppily in her pajamas - a black undershirt and boxer shorts, the only other things being her jacket thrown carelessly over her shoulders and her brown Ugg boots. Her hair was messy, her eyes were red and bloodshot from crying and she was breathing heavily, giving away that she ran as fast as she could to Sayaka's house. The nightmares must really be bad, Sayaka was thankful she didn't get them.

She couldn't even manage out a "Come in," before Kyoko cringed and threw herself onto Sayaka, wrapping her arms around her waist and burying her face into her chest, beginning to sob again. Sayaka quickly closed the door so the neighbors wouldn't be disturbed by the noise, then took off the blanket hanging off her shoulders and wrapped it around Kyoko, swapping it with her jacket which she threw onto a nearby couch. Stroking the girl's mahogany red hair and patting her back, she gently urged her into the kitchen. "Come on, let me get you a something to drink and then we can go to bed." she said softly as Kyoko clutched at the fabric of her nightshirt, fingers scraping through the thin fabric against her skin. She let go and stood up straight, wiping the tears away from her eyes and rubbing them a bit before nodding.

Beep-beep-beep went the microwave. Sayaka opened the door and carefully pulled out a small, warm glass of milk, and she wrapped it in a paper towel before handing it to Kyoko. Kyoko looked at her, making eye contact and silently saying 'thank you' before guzzling down the glass. Sayaka pulled up a chair, sitting down next to Kyoko and rubbing her shoulder gently. "Hey, slow down, you can't relax if you just chug the whole thing in one swig." The girl next to her stopped and put down the glass, taking her advice and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "Ah, sorry, I'm just all outta' sorts." she said, chuckling nervously and forcing a smile. Sayaka closed her eyes and nodded. "I know. That's okay." she replied softly, trying her best to sound caring and thoughtful. She wanted Kyoko to feel safe. She bean drinking more of her milk. "I know how nightmares can be and I'm sure they're twice as worse for you since you've actually been through what they're about, so it's alright. I understand. But you're here with me now, you're safe." Kyoko fell silent as she listened to Sayaka talk, drinking the last drops in the glass before sitting it on the table. Sayaka could tell she was uneasy.

"Hey, I'm getting kind of tired..." she said in a quiet voice, almost whispering and she rubbed her eyes. "C-can we go to bed now?" Sayaka felt her heart jump a bit, remembering that Kyoko wanted to sleep WITH her this time. "Y-yeah. One second." She stood up and took Kyoko's glass, putting it in the sink and putting a few inches of water in it so the remaining drops of milk wouldn't dry and crust onto the bottom. Kyoko stood behind her shyly, watching as she washed the glass and put it in the dishdrainer. Sayaka turned back to her and put her hand on her back, flipping off the light switch for the kitchen and gently guiding her to the bedroom, though she didn't have to. Kyoko had been over many times for sleepovers and they always played games in Sayaka's room, so she knew where it was, but Sayaka felt that the extra contact would help comfort Kyoko more, and she certainly needed all the comfort she could get. Once inside Sayaka crawled into bed and Kyoko sat down, slipping her legs under the sheets and pulling them over her stomach without a word. Something was off, Kyoko seemed nervous.

"What's wrong?" Sayaka asked. Kyoko was just staring down at her knees.

"Uh, I was thinkin'... if it's alright with you..." she began, "...can you sing to me?"

Sayaka sat up and was taken aback by yet another odd request. Sing? To Kyoko? Kyoko? Asking her to sing? Kyoko had only heard her - no, caught her singing a few times, and bad fun of her every time, so she assumed she didn't like the way she sang.

"I thought you didn't like my singing."

"I do!" Kyoko shouted, then immediately raised her hands in apology.

"I just say I don't because I'm embarrassed. You know how I am, I'm stupid like that."

Sayaka started at the red haired girl, not saying a word. Kyoko knew what she was thinking.

"...I know. Tsundere should be my middle name..." Sayaka always said that to her on almost a daily basis. Kyoko always denied it - "Don't call me that, I'll kick your ass! I'm anything BUT tsundere!" she'd shout, but she knew that Sayaka was right.

Sayaka smiled, then reached out and wrapped her arms around Kyoko's neck. And she lied back down, she pulled Kyoko with her, slowly and gently until she was lying down next to her with the side of her head positioned up against Sayaka's chest. Sayaka rested her left hand in Kyoko's hair as she used her other to reach over and rub her stomach.

"Of course I'll sing to you."

Kyoko inhaled deeply and listened as Sayaka sang quietly.

"Sing me to sleep, sing me to sleep, I'm tired and I want to go to bed.

Sing me to sleep, sing me to sleep... and then leave me alone."

She could feel the vibration of her Sayaka's voice in her chest, and she could hear her breathing. Kyoko breathed slowly, savoring Sayaka's smell and every word she sang

"Don't try to wake me in the morning, 'cause I will be gone."

Her eyes quickly started getting heavier. Kyoko felt her whole body relax, all the worry and tension from before melting away. There were no nightmares, there was no trauma or fear. All that existed anymore was Sayaka and the faint sound of her heartbeat.

"Don't feel bad for me, I want you to know... Deep in the cell of my heart, I will feel so glad to go."

It was too hard to fight it anymore. Kyoko's eyes fluttered closed, and she finally drifted off to sleep. Sayaka noticed and smiled as Kyoko snored softly.

"Sweet dreams, Kyoko Tsundere Sakura."

She leaned over and kissed Kyoko gently on the lips before laying her head down on her own pillow. It wasn't long until she, too fell asleep.

There were no more nightmares for either of them that night.


End file.
